My prototype pictures - B&O RR/Dayton, Oh

[DaytonPiquaRR]

I have spent a lot of time trying to decide on what I really want out of my first layout. I could go on and on about all the ideas I have, because there are just endless amounts of things one can create in a model and a layout.

It is appealing to me to capture a time when things seemed a lot simpler. I reside in Dayton, OH, which has such a rich history of transportation that choosing it as a prototype made sense from a modeling POV because I can include all types of transportation ideas into a layout and there is a wealth of photographic archives for me to consult as well.

For my initial planning stages I am trying to develop a compressed version of space between two cities, with two other towns in between. The period in which I am working is roughly between 1910 and 1930 - most definitely the steam era. For a start, here are some online photos I have found as references for what I am trying to capture:


Union Station


Main Street


Barney & Smith Railcar Co. (destroyed in 1913 flood)


Nifty little street scene


Interurban rail line with DC powerhouse in background.


Last day of street level track, raised track construction.


More of raised track.


Nice downtown hotel.





Although many of these photos look like a mess, the actual city in that time was well maintained and the streets were immaculately clean. The reason was that the city had a sanitation dept. to clean the streets of manure from horse carriages and drawn trolleys.

Eventually I hope to model a glimpse of some of this.

C & C welcome. Any good ideas even better!

 

[jbaakko]

Looks like you've got a GREAT railroad planned!

 

[OldGettysk]

Ditto looks like you have a plan going for you !!

 

[IronBeltKen]

Welcome to the forum!

There's a lotta railroad history in that town. I know the B&O had trackage thru there, and probably the Pennsy as well. I'd contact those RR's historical societies [if you haven't done so already]; better yet, see if you can find some Sanborn maps of your chosen area.

 

[DaytonPiquaRR]

Welcome to the forum!
better yet, see if you can find some Sanborn maps of your chosen area.

That seems to be a good resource, however that link goes to a help page. It says the archive is available to libraries and such. Do I have to subscribe or go down to the library?

Right now, I am just using images from google maps as overlays and tracing the right of ways in AutoCAD. Then I am piecing it together and stretching or shortening it to my liking. I am fairly familiar with where the existing and abandoned lines are, but those old surveys sure are neat to look at. For example, the state has a detailed survey of the old Miami & Erie Canal and it is amazing to see where it passed through the neighborhood and adjacent structures.

Maybe I will email the library or go to their website to see.

 

[IronBeltKen]

That seems to be a good resource, however that link goes to a help page. It says the archive is available to libraries and such. Do I have to subscribe or go down to the library? . . . Maybe I will email the library or go to their website to see.

Oh yeah I guess I shoulda mentioned - Sanborn maps have to be purchased, they're not downloadable online. But once you find an area that appeals to you, you can get a map of just that area. For the level of detail they provide, they're well worth the money [ask Space Mouse ]

 

[UP2CSX]

If you really want to model a prototype down to the smallest detail, Sanborn maps are the only thing to use. Since they were drawn for fire insurance purposes, they gave a block by block breakdown of a city.

It sounds like you are more interested in developing a layout that represents the area rather than being an exact copy. If that's case, Dayton is a good choice because it looked pretty much like any other medium size city from Ohio to Illinois. Pick out a few landmark structures to model and you can fill in the rest with generic period buildings.

One thing you need to think about is your time frame. 1910 was very different from 1930. In 1910, there were still a lot of horses on the streets pulling wagons and very few motor trucks. Motor cars were becoming more common but there were still a lot of horse-drawn carriages. By 1930, horses had completely disappeared from city streets. Automobiles and trucks predominated and traffic was much heavier on the streets than 1910. Gas and carbon arc streetlights of 1910 had been replaced by ornate electric streetlights. Electric advertising signs were seen in profusion by 1930 while they were still a novelty in 1910. A period from 1930 to 1950 requires a lot less changes to the basic scene than from 1910 to 1930. I guess I'm trying to say that I don't think the the 1910-1930 period will work very well - just too many changes in those 20 years to represent effectively on one layout.

 

[DaytonPiquaRR]

Oh yeah I guess I shoulda mentioned - Sanborn maps have to be purchased, they're not downloadable online. But once you find an area that appeals to you, you can get a map of just that area. For the level of detail they provide, they're well worth the money [ask Space Mouse ]

Thanks. I browsed my library index and they have them for around 1918. They do not say Sanborn, but they do list them as fire insurance maps. Probably just what they are. I will have to go down and copy them from microfiche.